Glenallachie whisky – Speyside

Glenallachie distillery information

The Glenallachie distillery was built in 1967 just South of the town of Abelour, on the foot of Ben Rinnes in Bannfshire in the Speyside region by Mackinlay-Macpherson (a subsidiary of Scottush & Newcastle Breweries at the time). The original intention was to use the whisky produced at Glenallachie in tge Mackinlay blend (one of the 5 best-selling blends in the United Kingdom at the time). The distillery was designed by William Delmé-Evans, who is sometimes referred to as the “modern day Charles Doig”, as he designed several distilleries, including Tullibardine and Jura, and James Barclay.

In 1985, Gelnallachie and Jura were purchased by Invergordon Distillers, who mothballed the distillery in 1987. In 1989, Glenallachie was bought by Campbell Distillers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, who reopened the distillery with an additional pair of stills in the same year. The distillery was transferred to Chivas Brothers (the subsidiary of Pernod Ricard holding their distilleries) in 2001. The distillery is equipped with a reactor that allows it to cool down the waste water so it can be released without too much impact on the wildlife in 2009.

The name Glenallachie can be translated from the Gaelic “Gleann Aleachaidh” to “The Glen of the rocky place”.

Glenallachie whisky

Most of the spirits distilled at Glenallachie are used for the Chivas blends (Chivas Regal, Clan Campbell). There have been 2 official bottlings released: